On the last play of Thursday's football scrimmage outside Memorial Stadium, Tim Lavery hooked up with Lenny Willis for a long touchdown pass.

The play?

A deep post.

The pitch?

"A fastball," Lavery said.

His 89 mph heater, it turns out, works as well from the pocket as it does off the mound. His 40-yard spiral hit Willis in stride, in the hands, in the end zone.

In baseball, it's called good pitch placement.

In football, it's called a touchdown.

"It felt good to go out on that note," Lavery said.

These are hectic times for the Illinois quarterback/pitcher/freshman. He's throwing deep posts for Ron Turner, change-ups for Itch Jones and a fit when the alarm clock starts buzzing after too few hours of sleep.

Two sports, one tired left-hander.

"Yeah, but this is why I came here," Lavery said. "I wouldn't want it any other way. I'm going to stick with both as long as I can."

His friends head off today for the beaches of Florida and Texas. This is Lavery's spring break:

– Last Saturday, he pitched 4 1/3 innings for the UI baseball team in its loss in Miami.

– From Tuesday to Thursday, he joined the UI football team for its first session of spring practice.

– On Sunday, he'll likely start for the UI baseball team against Michigan State at Illinois Field.

Somewhere in between, he studied.

"That's been the toughest part for me, finding time," Lavery said. "That and sleeping."

Spreading his talents around

Use caution when driving on Kirby Avenue near campus. There's a slim teen-ager from Naperville constantly crossing the street, mitt in one hand, helmet in the other and No. 13 on his back.

"Sure he's busy," UI quarterbacks coach Craig Ver Steeg said. "He's got to set aside time for baseball, set aside time for football, set aside time for academics.

"But it can be done. I've seen it done."

When Ver Steeg and Turner were coaching together at Southern Cal in the 1980s, Rodney Peete rotated between baseball and football and wound up earning a good living as a quarterback in the National Football League.

Recent Illini Scott Turner (football, track) and Forry Wells (football, baseball) pulled off double duty with positive results. Then again, they didn't play a position as complex as quarterback.

"It's not easy," Ver Steeg said. "But right now, he's in a position where he's helping the baseball team and helping the football team. As long as that continues, I see no problem with it."

The positive: Because Lavery is a pitcher, he plays no more than twice a week in baseball, allowing him time think football.

The minus: Because Lavery is a quarterback, he's required to know the playbook like no other position player. He needs to know where to throw on a blitz and what to do when the wideouts are double-covered.

That leaves little time for anything else.

"Sometimes I catch myself thinking about football at baseball practice and baseball at football practice," Lavery said. "It's tough to keep apart."

Positive performances

The Open 24 Hours routine hasn't affected Lavery's numbers.

In baseball, he's tied with Brett Weber for the team lead in starts (four) and is second in strikeouts (13). He'll miss two weeks of the season – spring practice resumes April 1, and football is his priority package – but will work on his mechanics in his rare spare time.

In football, he's battling Mark Hoekstra for the starting position, the two taking most of the snaps in Thursday's practice-ending scrimmage.

The football coaches have told Lavery his involvement in baseball won't play into their decision as far as picking a starting quarterback.

Comforting words, all of them.

"I've thought about that a lot," he said. "I figure if you come out and execute and make big plays, there's no way they cannot put you in there."

Jim Rossow is sports editor of The News-Gazette.